Category Archives: Assistive Devices

After 18 months of countless prototypes and trials, the S’up Spoon is now available. Started from a Kickstarter campaign, the S’up Spoon was designed originally for one person with cerebral palsy. But now the product is available to all who may benefit from its ability to help, including those with essential tremor.

Unlike a normal spoon, which normally requires your upper lip/teeth to pull content off, this requires you to tip food into your mouth. Simply scoop contents into the S’up Spoon, lift the spoon backwards, bring to lips and tip the contents into your mouth. The inclusive spoon is designed to reduce spillage, promote social interaction and make a wider range of food accessible. Each dishwasher safe spoon is made from plastic and weighs an estimated 25g. The item is produced and shipped from the United Kingdom and retails for £15 or $23 US (Shipping and handling not included). For more information visit, www.sup-products.com.

There’s nothing worse than sitting in traffic when you’re late for work … until you spill hot coffee in your lap. But now there’s no reason to cry over spilled milk—or coffee. The Mighty Mug helps those struggling with hand tremor (or those who are just generally accident-prone) as the self-proclaimed “un-spillable” coffee cup.

The Mighty Mug is a travel or coffee cup that creates a powerful airlock when placed on a flat surface. A small amount of air is trapped beneath, creating a vacuum that locks the mug in place, preventing the possibility of accidental bumps and spills. When the mug is lifted, the pressure instantly stabilizes, allowing the airlock to release and lift easily. Perfect for those frustrated with shaky hand spills.

The Might Mug keeps your drink hot or cold, is dishwasher-safe, BPA-free and comes with a 100% guarantee policy. See how it works at TheMightyMug.com. Prices begin at $14.99 and are only available online or at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Let us know if the Mighty Mug helps with your ET.

The LiftWare stabilizer comes standard with a spoon attachment, but now can do more. Don’t let hand tremor get in the way of eating salads, pasta, and foods you commonly eat with a fork and avoid the hassle of spilling soup with two new attachments for the LiftWare device. The new fork attachment has a deep-scooped profile to hold more food, and the new soup spoon attachment has been designed specifically with a deeper bowl to hold 65% more liquid than the standard spoon attachment. The device and new attachments allow you to focus less on how you are eating and more on the people you’re eating with. The new attachments are compatible with the LiftWare stabilizer handle (sold separately for $295). Attachments available exclusively at LiftLabsDesign.com for $19.95.

If you are unable to afford a LiftWare device and have essential tremor, Lift Labs has a donation program available. If you would like to be considered to receive a donated LiftWare device, please review and complete an application. Please note that the IETF does not pay for devices nor does it solicit donations to pay for devices. We simply assist them in distributing devices that have been donated.

Last fall, Lift Labs introduced Liftware, a device designated to help people whose hand tremor gets in the way of simple tasks like eating. In honor of National Essential Tremor Month in March, Lift Labs was able to match contributions made through an Indiegogo campaign, dollar for dollar.

As a result, Lift Labs went above and beyond the goal of $7,500 and raised over $17,000 allowing them to send several free devices to the IETF to provide to those in economic hardship. Due to the overwhelming success, Lift Labs is continuing the campaign to push for $20,000.

Joe Bremhorst, an IETF Ambassador, was featured in a recent news story to give his review of the Liftware spoon, a tremor-cancelling spoon from Lift Labs.

“It’s dampening my tremor tremendously,” Joe says in the story. He calls the Liftware spoon amazing and a lifesaver.

The IETF is glad to hear of Joe’s remarkable success he’s had with the Liftware spoon, and we hope many people with essential tremor will find the device as life-changing as Joe does. Liftware may be pre-ordered now, and Lift Labs will begin shipping the spoons in December.

Read more about this and other essential tremor stories in the news here.

Lift Pulse 2.0, a smart phone app created by Lift Labs, has released the results of data gathered from users since updating the app in June 2013. Lift Pulse 2.0 includes a journal feature that measures and records tremors. It also records what medications you’re taking for tremor and how you’re doing with sleep, exercise and stress. The app stores your journal entries anonymously in Lift Lab’s private database. You have access to this data through your phone and computer, and Lift Lab analyzes it to provide you with information on how different factors affect your tremor.

Among the data extracted from users of Lift Pulse 2.0, Lift Labs found:

The most commonly used prescription is Propranolol (Inderal®), followed by Primidone (Mysoline®).

Exercise exacerbates amplitude of tremor.

People who reported less stress have less severe tremor symptoms.

Lift Pulse 2.0 users have measured their tremor almost 4,000 times so far, and that number continues to grow, according to Lift Labs.

Lift Labs, an IETF partner, focuses on healthcare and consumer devices used by individuals with motion disorders such as Essential Tremor. Lift Pulse 2.0 is available from iTunes and Google Play.